401(k) Fridays Podcast

Episode Summary

Today's episode is absolutely packed with information for all plan sponsors regardless of the current “cash” or capital preservation strategy in your 401(k) plan.  My guest, Brett Gorman, a SVP at PIMCO Investments and head of their Stable Value business shares valuable information about Money Market Reform and its impact on both plan sponsors and participants.  He also lays out a great roadmap to help plan sponsors reevaluate their capital preservation strategy to find the right mix of principal protection, liquidity and real return.  Be sure to listen for more details on what real return is and why it should be an important factor in your go forward capital preservation strategy.  

Guest Bio

Mr. Gorman, a CFA Charterholder, is a senior vice president, an account manager in the defined contribution (DC) practice, and head of PIMCO’s stable value business. The PIMCO DC Practice, with over $100 billion of  DC-related assets under management, is dedicated to promoting effective DC plan design and innovative retirement solutions and offers investment management for fixed-income, stable value and other capital preservation solutions, inflation protection, equities and asset allocation strategies such as target-date solutions. PIMCO has been managing stable value since 1992 and, with almost $30 billion in stable value assets under administration, provides a variety of stable value-related services to the market. 

Mr. Gorman currently serves on the board of directors of Stable Value Investment Association (SVIA), an industry-peer elected position. The SVIA is dedicated to providing leadership and representation on issues related to stable value before the media, educators, legislators, regulators and opinion leaders, as well as serving as a forum for the exchange of ideas and discussion of issues important to the Stable Value industry. He has spoken at a variety of industry meetings and conferences, including at numerous SVIA Forums, the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Global Wealth & Retirement Solutions Conference, DCIIA, the PIMCO DC Advisory Council, and the SPARK Institute. 

Prior to joining PIMCO, Mr. Gorman was a director and senior portfolio manager with the Deutsche Asset Management stable value team and a fixed income portfolio manager for institutional and governmental clients at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. He has 23 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from Rutgers University and a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University.

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve  their retirement plans.  My name is Rick Unser and I am your host.  All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.  

For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com

Episode Summary

The new DOL Conflict of Interest Rule, what is also being referred to as the new DOL Fiduciary Rule, has introduced changes that some are calling the most significant since the introduction of ERISA over 40 years ago.  While the rule will have a phased effective date beginning in April 2017, there are multiple items employers should begin exploring now. As usual, Sam does a great job of extracting specific elements of the 1100 page rule that employers should be aware of and provides questions to ask today along with specific next steps.  

Guest Bio

Sam Henson, is a Vice President and Director of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs for Lockton Retirement Services.  Sam also brings a unique perspective to our discussion today as prior to joining Lockton, he spent almost 10 years with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), where he conducted more than 150 civil and criminal investigations of employee retirement and benefits plans, service providers, and fiduciaries.  He capped off his career at the DOL as the 2011 recipient of the Secretary of Labor’s Exceptional Achievement Award.  Needless to say, we are glad we have Sam on our side now and he is not out there banging down the doors of employers any more!

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve  their retirement plans.  My name is Rick Unser and I am your host.  All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.  

For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com

Episode Summary

While you might be familiar with the term behavioral finance, you have not heard my guest Stuart Ritter, from T. Rowe Price explain the origins, research and fundamentals behind why it is so important for employers to understand and embrace as they design their retirement plans.  Stuart is a vice president and senior financial planner—designing, building, and implementing guidance and advice services to assist customers in achieving their financial goals. He has appeared on television and radio programs for networks like ABC News, Fox Business, and National Public Radio; and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, Money magazine, and other national news organizations. During our conversation, he shares useful and entertaining stories and analogies to help employers better understand the concepts of behavioral finance and why plan design options such as automatic enrollment and automatic increases are really not as foreign to employees as we may think.  I hope you enjoy this fast paced and information packed episode!

Guest Bio

Episode Summary

If you feel like you are spending the “right amount of money” in your retirement plan but not getting the results you expect in either recruiting, retention or employee retirement outcomes, spending more money to get better results doesn’t have to be the answer.  According to my guest, Marc Howell without increasing costs, you could improve all three of those metrics by breaking away from a traditional retirement plan design and moving towards plan design customization. Marc is a Vice President and head of Custom Retirement Solutions with Prudential Financial.  In our conversation he tackles preconceived notions about 401(k) plan design, how employers can deliver retirement benefits with surgical precision to either incentivize or reward employee behavior and how some popular employer contribution strategies are actually setting your employees up for failure in preparing for retirement.  If you have not already subscribed to the podcast, go to iTunes or GooglePlay and search 401(k) Fridays and click subscribe.  And now, enjoy conversation!

Guest Bio

Marc Howell, FSA, EA, Vice President – Custom Retirement Solutions at Prudential Financial, has over 17 years of experience working with sponsors of defined benefit and defined contribution plans. He leads a team of actuarial consultants tasked with providing custom design solutions within the defined contribution market, aiming to deliver better benefits for employees while driving improved bottom line results for employers. 

He has redesigned retirement programs for numerous plan sponsors including both union and non-union workforces. Marc has partnered with these organizations to create new pension, executive, and defined contribution plans. His retirement programs are in place with organizations across the U.S., ranging from manufacturing, healthcare, utilities, higher education, and professional services organizations.  Marc’s innovative approach to plan redesign won his clients 1st place in the PSCA Signature Awards, for both 2013 and 2015, in the following categories: 2013 – Plan Administrative and Design Changes and 2015 -  Fiduciary and Plan Decision Resources

Marc was a Joseph Wharton Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, where he graduated with a B.S. in economics. He is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and an enrolled actuary.

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve  their retirement plans.  My name is Rick Unser and I am your host.  All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.  

For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com

Episode Description

If you are with a manufacturing company, this is a can’t miss episode.  Be sure to listen for key points specific to manufacturing companies about industry trends that are impacting plan design, plan health and employee retirement readiness.  Also, my guest Scott Francolini shares great advice on how manufacturers can help recruit younger workers and help older workers make a successful and timely transition into retirement.  I hope you enjoy!

Guest Bio

Scott Francolini is Senior Vice President of Mid/Large Strategic Relationship Management at John Hancock Retirement Plan Services (JHRPS). He previously held the same role at New York Life Retirement Plan Services, which merged with JHRPS in April 2015. Scott joined our organization in 2009 and has more than 20 years of experience in financial services.

He was previously Retirement Practice Lead for our Manufacturing, Materials, and Retail/Distribution industry practice, where he was responsible for establishing its strategic direction and overseeing execution through a team of Relationship Managers, ERISA Consultants, Strategic Communication Consultants, and Investment Specialists.

Prior to joining our organization, he gained valuable retirement, brokerage, and advisory services experience at CIGNA Retirement & Investment Services, Prudential Financial, and Fidelity Investments.

Scott received a B.S. in Finance from Bryant College and an M.B.A. from the University of Hartford. In addition, he maintains his FINRA Series 7, 26, and 63 registrations and is licensed with the State of Massachusetts Insurance Department.

Outside of work, Scott enjoys traveling with his family, coaching youth soccer, and skiing. 

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve  their retirement plans.  My name is Rick Unser and I am your host.  All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.  

For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com

Episode Description

If you are an employer and are at all curious about what’s happening in Washington D.C. that might impact your 401(k) plan, I am happy to report that my guest Joan McDonagh likely covers it in today’s episode!  Our conversation includes:

• Developments with state run retirement programs

• The DOL’s proposed Fiduciary Rule 

• Initiatives to help participants generate lifetime income in retirement plans

• Tax reform and how it could impact retirement plans

• Potential impact of the upcoming presidential election on retirement plans

Guest Bio

Joan is an ERISA attorney with Empower Retirement and has been working with retirement plans for over 30 years.  She is on the Government Relations Committee of the Society of Professional Asset-Managers and Record Keepers (SPARK) and Chairs the Public Policy Committee of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA).  She has written numerous articles and presented a variety of seminars on retirement plan issues.  And, if all that wan’t enough she is also a co-author of the 401(k) Answer Book.

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve  their retirement plans.  My name is Rick Unser and I am your host.  All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.  

For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com

Episode Summary

Conflicts, compensation and reasonableness, what do these three words have in common?  Ok, I ‘ll let you off the hook, these are the key issues at the heart of roughly 90% of the recent 401(k) litigation according to my guest, Jason Roberts ERISA Attorney and Founder of the Pension Resource Institute and the Retirement Law Group.  Jason has been repeatedly recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine.  To help employers with those three issues, this episode drills into selecting and monitoring 401(k) service providers, a key fiduciary responsibility and one that is often misunderstood by plan sponsors.  Jason shares strategies to determine fee reasonableness in light of the value, six open ended questions to evaluate service providers and unique insights such as low cost at all cost might not be the best fiduciary protection strategy.  Finally, be sure to stick around for when he alludes to a criminal lawyer performing an ERISA plan document review.  Sorry, 401(k) humor, I hope you enjoy!

Guest Bio

Jason C. Roberts is the Founder and CEO of the Pension Resource Institute (PRI) providing strategic consulting and training to retirement plan service providers and fiduciary education to plan sponsors. 

Prior to founding PRI, Jason was a partner and co-chair of the Financial Services Group at a leading, national ERISA law firm where his practice focused on employee benefits and securities regulation. Jason continues to provide counsel on ERISA and investment-related matters at Retirement Law Group, PC and is frequently retained as an expert on fiduciary responsibilities, Department of Labor (DOL) investigations and retirement plan product development, design and implementation.

Jason was named as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. He is an active member of the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) and American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA). In 2014, Jason was appointed, for a two-year term, as an advisor for the Beach Cities Health District's finance committee.

Jason is a nationally-recognized speaker and has published numerous articles on fiduciary best practices, ERISA compliance and securities regulation. He is frequently quoted and interviewed by both professional and public publications.

Jason received his B.S.B.A. in Finance & Banking from the University of Missouri and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law. He is a graduate of FINRA’s Compliance Boot Camp and has obtained the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve  their retirement plans.  My name is Rick Unser and I am your host.  All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.  

For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com

Episode Description

Let’s say you were running your 401(k) fiduciary committee meetings wrong, wouldn’t you want someone to tell you?  Luckily, I was able to track down Jason Roberts, ERISA attorney and founder of the Pension Resource Institute to help set the record. straight.  Jason has been repeatedly recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine.  In this episode you will hear tremendous insights on why you should develop a well balanced and prudent fiduciary process, how current 401(k) litigation is shedding new light on employer fiduciary best practices and finally, why all the time you spend discussing plan investments might not be providing you the protection you have been lead to believe it does.  If you don’t have a pen and paper handy, don’t worry, i have bios, notes, links and a full episode breakdown on the website at www.401kfridays.com.  Without further ado, here we go! 

Guest Bio

Jason C. Roberts is the Founder and CEO of the Pension Resource Institute (PRI) providing strategic consulting and training to retirement plan service providers and fiduciary education to plan sponsors. 

Prior to founding PRI, Jason was a partner and co-chair of the Financial Services Group at a leading, national ERISA law firm where his practice focused on employee benefits and securities regulation. Jason continues to provide counsel on ERISA and investment-related matters at Retirement Law Group, PC and is frequently retained as an expert on fiduciary responsibilities, Department of Labor (DOL) investigations and retirement plan product development, design and implementation.

Jason was named as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. He is an active member of the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) and American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA). In 2014, Jason was appointed, for a two-year term, as an advisor for the Beach Cities Health District's finance committee.

Jason is a nationally-recognized speaker and has published numerous articles on fiduciary best practices, ERISA compliance and securities regulation. He is frequently quoted and interviewed by both professional and public publications.

Jason received his B.S.B.A. in Finance & Banking from the University of Missouri and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law. He is a graduate of FINRA’s Compliance Boot Camp and has obtained the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve  their retirement plans.  My name is Rick Unser and I am your host.  All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.  

For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com

Episode Description

I am excited to share the first episode in our Sponsor Spotlight segment of the podcast!  I had the pleasure to sit down with Brad Champagne, Senior Director of Human Resources at Mission Linen Supply in Santa Barbara, CA  We’ve worked together for a long time and I’ve always been impressed by his thoughtfulness and ability to focus on the bigger picture.  Brad shares candid details about his company, their culture, their 401(k) plan and most importantly the circumstances surrounding some significant plan changes they made to put their employees on a better path to retirement.  As you will hear, the retirement committee really struggled with the impact and disruption to both their employees and the company the potential changes could have.  Hopefully this isn’t too much of a spoiler but both the short and long term results have been beyond their expectations.  Finally, there are some great takeaways for employers who are contemplating changes in their retirement plans.  Thank you for listening, and I hope you enjoy!

Guest Bio

Brad Champage in the Senior Director of Human Resources at Mission Linen Supply in Santa Barbara, CA.  

Over the past 23 years, Mr. Champagne has held positions of increasing responsibility within Human Resources at Mission Linen after initially joining the company as a Management Trainee in Operations. He has played a key role in many important initiatives at the company, including the implementation of an Enterprise HR operating system, the development of improved performance management systems and the execution of a new compensation program for Sales and Operations.

As Director of Compensation and Benefits since 2011, Champagne has guided the company’s benefit plans through changes required by the ACA and overseen administration of the company’s 401k plan, which won an Eddy Award in 2014 for outstanding education campaign.

Mr. Champagne received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and has earned both the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) designations. When he’s not working, Mr. Champagne enjoys running and watching his three children participate in their various activities. 

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve  their retirement plans.  My name is Rick Unser and I am your host.  All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.  

For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com

Episode Description

Should there be a balance between employee and employer goals in a 401(k) retirement plan? This was a different statement and one that I felt employers could benefit from learning more about. This episode provides data and specific strategies on how and why everyone can benefit when their goals are aligned. My guest is Hugh O’Toole, President and founder of the Viability Advisory Group. During our conversation you will hear several unique insights and examples of the interplay between healthcare, wages, risk management and employee engagement as the main drivers of both employer and employee financial wellness. I hope you take as much away for this conversation as I did! 

Guest Bio

Hugh O’Toole is Senior Vice President of the Viability Advisory Group, responsible for directing and promoting the firm’s efforts to quantify the value of helping employers and employees make the most of their retirement and other employee benefits. 

O’Toole has an established track record as a disruptor in the retirement plans and benefits marketplaces. After founding Viability in 2014, O’Toole then joined MassMutual in 2015 when the insurer acquired the assets of his firm. 

Previously, O’Toole headed distribution and relationship management for MassMutual for seven years, when the insurer more than doubled its retirement plan assets under management. MassMutual then doubled its assets again when O’Toole helped lead the acquisition of The Hartford’s Retirement Plans unit in 2013. 

Before joining MassMutual, O’Toole led Principal Financial Group’s growth in the nonprofit and worksite insurance markets. He joined Principal after the insurer purchased his firm, Professional Pensions, Inc., which disrupted the nonprofit retirement plans market by making available lower-cost investment offerings previously available only to corporate retirement plans. O’Toole graduated from the State University of New York in Oneonta with a BS in psychology. He is a Registered Principal.

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve  their retirement plans.  My name is Rick Unser and I am your host.  All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.  

For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com